14. Jaiyana

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

JAIYANA

I stared at Tyson's open door. He'd not even bothered to shut it. My heart squeezed, but I'd done the right thing.

He said The Hunt put these emotions in me, in both of us. I wouldn't blame him for being angry. Just like I wouldn't blame myself for the hurt I'd caused us both. The only entity at fault here was whoever or whatever stranded me on this island.

Tyson will come around.

He did exactly what I expected: run.

He loves you.

He loves having a pet human who can pop out kids.

I pulled my attention away from my inner monologue. Although the open door tempted me to run, I didn't know where to go and didn't have the right gear. We'd trashed the mud-covered hiking clothing. And all I had were the shirts and boxers I kept stealing from Tyson. Even if I scrounged up basic supplies from around his apartment, I could only put together a day or two worth of rations. Nothing he had would help me escape from an island under complete magical shifter control.

I brushed the mate mark Rehan left under my ear. Even without my magic, I knew the little wave-shaped scar did more than protect my virtue. From what I remembered about shifters, Rehan could probably find me anywhere in the world.

Or maybe he couldn't. Fuck, it felt like puckered skin. Without my magic, I had no idea.

Even if he could find me, he probably wouldn't. No doubt my inability to have kids would destroy that connection as well. My heart squeezed. In the eyes of these dragons, I didn't have a purpose. Back in Graeagle, I didn't have one either. Hell, even before Graeagle… I blinked a few times. Where had I been before Graeagle? I wintered in Greece this year, right? Or was that the year before?

A hazy image of a cabin in a pine-filled wood drifted before vanishing.

My life is so dull I can't even remember it.

…

A rare, very brief moment of silence entered my thoughts. I grimaced, trying not to read too much into it.

Slowly, I walked to the door and pulled it shut.

I cried myself to sleep. Sometimes, no matter how strong I thought I was, I had to let the waterworks out.

Tyson never returned to his bed, and I tried to forget the safety I'd found in his arms as I tossed and turned. After a fitful night, I woke with the sun. Instead of pretending to be someone I wasn't, I flung open the doors to his balcony and dropped into my push-up and sit-up routine. The warm morning rays sank into my skin as I sweat. I loved the feel of my burning muscles. They reminded me I was still alive.

The Ley Lines had called to me. Magic had called to me, and I'd spent my life following its lead. Power was my purpose then, and it was now. I needed to remember that. No one should make me feel inadequate – especially not a young, stupid, handsome dragon shifter who didn't know the whole story.

And not yourself, Jay.

Easier said than done.

With sweat streaming down my face, I returned to the room, showered, and pillaged Tyson's closet. A drawer I'd not explored contained a few pairs of women's undergarments. The dragon shifter with the rose gold hair momentarily filled my vision, as jealousy reared its ugly head. I pushed it down. Tyson didn't want me, and that was that.

The panties were tiny, and the bra too big, but I gained some support and dignity with some creative cutting and tying. Next, I found a pair of khaki shorts and a belt. I would give anything to avoid putting on one of Tyson's shirts again, but I didn't have another option.

Why did he have to smell so good?

No, Jay, it's dragon magic, not your real feelings.

Are you sure, girl?

Yes, be quiet.

Dressed for the first time in days, I raided his fridge for everything meat. I had no idea how vegans survived. With a massive protein-filled omelet on my plate and a coffee cooling with some milk, I picked up the tablet and looked for the internet.

Though I found the icon, someone deactivated it along with every other form of communication. I wrinkled my nose and flipped back to my paperwork, looking for any clue as to who actually filled it out.

The door to the apartment burst open, and a shrill squeaking scream escaped my lungs. I clasped my chest to calm down.

Deep bags hung under Tyson's eyes. His gaze latched onto mine as he marched into the room. Two men followed him. Anger bunched the shoulders of an older man about Tyson's height with the same bone structure and sharp features. I immediately tried to gather my magic, but the fucking stuff was still gone.

The third man eyed my wiggling fingers through exceptionally bushy salt and pepper eyebrows, and I glared at him, daring him to say something.

Tyson stopped just out of reach. "Betty."

I rolled my eyes. Right, we were back to that.

"This is my sire, Ryker." He pointed to the dragon shifter, who I would have guessed as much, before gesturing to the other. "And, Doctor Raba."

I narrowed my eyes at the Doctor. Middle-aged, the man sported neat, cropped black hair. A salt and pepper beard framed his round face. He stood with his shoulders slightly slumped, wearing a white lab coat with a stethoscope around his neck. Nothing about him screamed dragon, and without my magic, he could be dogs standing on each other's shoulders for all I knew. This person could be the man who brought me here, a simple human doctor, or an unreliable quack.

I let out an annoyed sigh and picked up the tablet: ‘Am I getting a virginity test too, cuz that will fail just as hard.'

Tyson snorted before remembering his anger and scowling.

Doctor Raba directed me to sit on the table. He mumbled under his breath in a language I couldn't make out. His fingers moved in recognizable patterns as he called on magic. So not a simple human doctor. I let him poke and prod me, pretending I had no idea what he did. The worst that could happen: he would detect whatever magic was suppressing my own, and I could get out of here.

A flush of excitement rushed through me. I could use this. Frantically, I poked my forehead, where my third eye should open. Everything living had a center of power. For humans, it was our third eye – right in the middle of our forehead. Dragons held their power in their hearts. Doctor Raba eyed my motions but ultimately ignored them, focusing on my lower gut. I slumped and dropped my hands.

"She's not lying," Doctor Raba declared, stepping back. "She's missing several organs, including her uterus." He eyed me. "You're twenty-four, according to your paperwork?"

I turned my palms to the ceiling. The number was only off by like a thousand years.

"Well, I can't determine her age." He looked at Ryker. "But other than her lack of fertility, I detect nothing wrong with her."

I clenched my fists and willed myself not to cry. Fucking hack, it had to be a spell of some kind. Why couldn't Doctor Raba feel it?

That or he's in on it.

Peachy.

Tyson crossed his arms over his bare chest and didn't meet my gaze. "So, what should we do?"

King Ryker scowled. "You said Rehan mate bonded her, correct?"

Tyson bristled. "He cheated."

"Get over yourself, son." King Ryker took a step forward, and Tyson's posture dropped and glued his gaze to the floor.

An overwhelming need to step in front of Tyson and defend him from his father had me jumping off the table, but I planted my feet. This wasn't my fight. If he'd wanted to work this out between us, he would have stayed last night instead of storming off like a child who didn't get his way.

He even ran to his dad. Maybe we're dodging a bullet on this one.

Or maybe his father has him so tied in knots he can't make his own decisions.

No, don't even start that. We are not on the island to rescue dragons.

We could be!

"We're giving her back to the water dragons," Ryker continued, pulling me out of my speculation. "We're keeping our mouths shut about her defect."

Defect? My jaw dropped.

Tyson jerked like his father's words hit him but didn't look up from the floor.

"They can either figure it out on their own or not. Either way, she won't be our problem anymore," Ryker finished.

I lunged for the tablet in Tyson's hands and prayed he could read my rushed words full of errors.

"There's clearly been a mistake here," Tyson read my words out loud. "Just package me back home, and we can pretend this never happened."

I didn't miss the hurt in his eyes before he buried it with anger. "How did you learn so little in your class? You don't have a home to go back to."

I blinked in shock. "Squeak?"

"We faked your death," Ryker explained. "You didn't have any family to cover, so you had to vanish. Scalehive already erased your old life."

I folded my arms and tapped my elbow. Right, except Betty wasn't real, and Jaiyana Adel was a wealthy immortal with a vampire accountant who wouldn't believe shit unless my dead body was bleeding across his precious laptop. Either Scalehive didn't do anything, these guys were lying to me, or they didn't know what was going on either.

Ryker stood with the tablet, making his cream button-down glow and casting his face in a sinister shadow. I looked at Doctor Raba again, who watched me like a hawk. Either of them could be in on it.

Fuck.

"You don't seem very upset." Doctor Raba said, furrowing his bushy eyebrows.

I tossed my hands into the air and poked my forehead so hard it made a solid thunk.

"Even if she could return." King Ryker ignored me. "We'd have to fund it. just give her to the water dragons, son." He turned, dismissing me. "My people will get her outfitted for the social tonight. We'll turn her into something Rehan can't resist."

Tyson's gaze wavered before he followed his father's lead, deliberately turning his back and walking toward the exit.

My heart cracked open again, and I gritted my teeth. Two days. I'd only been with him for forty-eight hours, pretending to be something I wasn't. I had not fallen for the asshole.

He made you happy.

Shut up.

I wouldn't waste another tear on Tyson's ass. Maybe I'd have better luck with the water dragons. At least now I had a better understanding of what was going on, I could approach them differently – starting with telling Rehan the truth.

To my surprise, Tyson paused at his door and looked back at me. His gaze shifted to Doctor Raba, still standing at my side. With a growl, he lunged forward, pulled the Doctor away from me, and shoved him out. Tyson paused with his door mostly shut, his gaze roving over me like he was memorizing me a final time.

"Jay." He swallowed, and his Adam's apple bobbed. "I didn't want this." He curled his fist and knocked on the wooden frame. "I…"

Before he could continue, I held my hand up, pushing down the swell of emotion. Despite his angry words the day before, if I could have been his Betty, I would have. But it never would have worked, and we both knew it.

‘It's not your fault,' I mouthed.

His face pinched. Instead of exiting, he rushed me, crushing me to his chest and kissing me hard.

"Tyson!" Ryker's voice drifted through the open door.

Tyson released me. A little line of static shock jumped from one part of his dramatically spiked hair to another. Without a word, he limped out the door, holding his balls. The lock clicked into place, leaving me in his quiet, empty apartment.

Despite my promise not to cry, a single tear slipped down my face.